Just a Bad Day
by Kasupop
Summary: "You know what? Fine. I'll just leave then." Cam, Ash, and Lillian have been the best of friends for the past four years, but when Ash starts giving the cold shoulder to Lillian specifically, she returns it tenfold, and goes to lengths that he had never expected or imagined. Rewrite of Had a Bad Day.
1. Bitter Bean

Hello everyone! Long-time no see, but my real AN is down at the bottom. All I wanted to say here, before anyone begins this version of Had a Bad Day, is that this fanfiction is rated T due to profane language and suggestive themes. If you believe I should up the rating due to either of these reasons (you can judge for yourself when you read what I mean), then I will comply without a second thought! Thanks so much, and I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

Ash didn't even like coffee.

But there he was, standing in the line of the unusually bustling café of Bluebell, his foot resisting the temptation to begin tapping in his impatience. With his teeth biting down on the inside of his cheek, he crossed and uncrossed his arms, rubbed his forehead, shifted his weight, and presented about every other tick that could reveal how utterly irritated he was with… everything. Just absolutely everything. He was precisely being the kind of customer that he couldn't personally deal with, nor respect.

Even as a simple farmhand to mother's thriving business, Ash had experienced more than his share of customer service. Before Cheryl came about to basically kick him out as Jessica's personal assistant (which he could only be so bitter about; with her girl scout's charm and silver tongue, she was more than a top notch pro at her job, as loathe as he was to admit it), he had helped out with sales and transactions, accounting, filing, and all of that other fun stuff that had essentially killed him and his childhood on a daily basis. Being out and about in the fields had proven to be more his forte anyways, given the fact that he apparently had a knack for settling down even the most nervous and skittish of animals that came through their stables and coops. The only person who ever seemed even close to passing his own abilities was –

"Next please!"

Snapped out of his stupor, Ash had realized with a flush that he had been off in his own world again, and he hadn't been moving up in the line as it had begun to dwindle before him. With enough space for there to have been as least four people ahead of him, he shuffled forward with the slightest air of shame, which only furthered his soured mood from before. Today just wasn't turning out to be his day.

"And people say that _I_ space out," came a playful giggle from behind the counter. With a sigh, Ash rolled his eyes at the blonde girl, to whom the voice belonged, and tensed ever so slightly. What in the world possessed him to think that coming to the café could somehow lift his spirits? At his lack of reply, Laney quirked a delicate eyebrow, a grin passive on her face as she gave a shrug and continued, "Alrighty there, Smiley –better watch your immense cheerfulness, lest it make someone else feel good. What can I get for you?"

Frick. Now he really was being the worst kind of customer, if not the worst kind of person. "Sorry," he sheepishly apologized, averting his gaze as a notch of his irritation faded. There was no reason for him to be a jerk to Laney, of all people; she was an easy candidate for the friendliest resident between Bluebell and Konohana combined, and her smile was infectious at the worst of times.

Even now, at his pathetic excuse for an apology, she dismissed it with a wave of her hand and a genuine smile, "No worries. Are you just getting your usual?"

"No, not this time. Just a medium-medium, room for cream," he ordered, a slight pounding forming behind his temple. Hopefully actual caffeine, rather than his general white mocha of delightful sugariness, topped with extra whip and chocolate shavings, would better help him prepare for the long day ahead. With the natural grace of having worked in the café for the better half of her life, Laney had the steaming coffee poured and placed neatly on the counter in a ceramic mug before he had even finished counting out his change. Passing the money over, he couldn't wipe the small frown that dented his features as he looked at the coffee before him. "Sorry to be a pain, but could I actually get this to-go? Just pour this into the other cup. Sorry."

"If it'll help make you feel better, than that's hardly the worst thing you could ask for," she retorted with a grin, "I'd offer to give my best childhood buddy a hug to weaken his woes, but there's a line behind you. Next time, 'kay?"

With a glance over his shoulder, he quickly realized how true her words rang –there were at least six people standing behind him, and more seemed to be flowing through the front doors. As he shuffled out of the way, he casually noted that all the other customers, locals and tourists alike, seemed to be engaged in their own line-standing activities, whether that was chatting amongst one another, staring off into nothing, or a little bit of everything in between. Without wasting another moment, he gave the blonde woman a smile so procured that it could have been the lead exhibit in a museum of fake art.

Moving to the condiment stand, Ash absently starting pouring cream and sugar into his coffee, his mind muddled by a thousand fleeting thoughts, none of which seemed nearly relevant or important enough to focus on for more than a split second. Which is when a voice had to come and disrupt his peace.

"Would you like some coffee with your sugar?"

The farmhand harshly flinched, nearly knocking his paper cup over; how he had managed to handle it without the contents spilling on the counter, floor, or worst of all, his hand, Ash couldn't even begin to say. "Hey," he muttered, more preoccupied with setting his drink down before the shaking in his hand caused exactly what he was trying to prevent.

"My, my, Laney was right. You really are a grump today, huh? What's the dealio, broseph?" Ash sighed and lidded his coffee, finally glancing over at the eternal disruptor of his peace. Lillian.

It wasn't like that was necessarily a bad thing, though. Despite his irritation at her presence at the current moment, she was easily his best friend in the village, having even surpassed Cam by the barest margin. It just so happened that she wasn't at the top of his need-to-see list at the moment; frankly, his bed would beat out every other person in that position at the moment. But if anyone was gonna pull him on out of his stupor, she was the perfect person for the job.

"Oh joy," he replied with the most deadpan voice he could muster, attempting to keep his grin from showing –she was already influencing him in all the right ways. He needed to learn to seek her out whenever he was in one of his moods. "Just the pest I wanted to see. I mean person." With a dramatic gasp, the dirty blonde slapped his arm. "I lied. I meant pest."

"You are such a dick face," she pouted, putting a hand on her cocked hip as she took a sip from one of the café's signature ceramic mugs –if he knew Lillian half as well as any stranger assumed, he guessed she was drinking the day's featured dark roast, made to be black as her soul. He had learned early on that if she would be stubborn on anything, it would be on how she took her coffee. Question her upon her tastes (or lack thereof, in his opinion), and she would go on a drawn out rant about how cream and sugar "muddled the flavours" or about how adding such things didn't "give respect to the coffee itself". What a dork.

"And you had best be careful, or your own vulgarity will rub off on him," a new voice chimed from behind the duo. In perfect synchronization, Ash and Lillian turned, and the woman broke into a massive smile, wrapping her free arm around the waist of Cam as he approached the condiment stand.

"Oh, I'm sure that he would prefer me to rub something else off him," she snickered, shooting a disgusting, self-satisfied grin at the farmhand, whose face contorted in repulsion. "And by that, I mean he wants me to rub his diddly-hoo. His magic winter wand. His meat st-"

" _Stop,"_ the men begged in unison, their faces equally flushed from simply being associated with this conversation.

"My Goddess, I want to ask if you were raised in a barn, but that would just shame every good, hardworking farmer in the world," Cam sighed, shaking his head and rubbing his forehead with the hand that hadn't fallen across Lillian's shoulder. "I know that city live provides a very… different lifestyle. But are all people from there like you?"

"Yup. Every one. I'm not even that bad. There was this one time in my junior year of high school, where this girl –Sasha, her name was, and she was one smokin' hottie. But anyways –"

"Shhhhh, Lillian, shhh. There are actually decent human beings around. And I think we've both heard our share of Sasha stories before," Ash snickered, Cam nodding in support and agreement. While it was impossible to keep the farmer from going off on one of her tangents alone (she would shush them and scold them if they even tried, before continuing with a new level of unnecessary detail each time), the florist and the farmhand could more or less contain her when they tag-teamed, much to her dismay.

At that, she pouted, but shrugged it off after a moment, "I'm still not _that_ bad. Just compared to you country bumpkins."

"So now we're bumpkins? Cameron, my good sir, I feel like we should be exceptionally offended right now. I do believe she just insulted our good natured, simple lifestyles."

"I must admit that you may be correct, my good fellow, Ashton. But I believe I should be more offended than you, sir, for not only has she slighted me, but you have as well." Ash's face twisted into the epitome of confusion, which only fueled Cam as he grinned, leaning closer to Lillian and using a mock-whisper tone to continue, "Notice how he still hasn't told us why he was so huffy earlier? I feel like our good friend, our so-called _best_ friend, is trying to keep _secrets_."

"My, my," Lillian gasped, picking up the act now that she was given her part in the play, "I do believe you may be right, my darling gentleman. I bet it's about a _girl_ or something equally as scandalous. What a sneaky bastard." At that, the two began to snicker as Ash rolled his eyes; he already knew that there was no chance he'd win this one.

"Lil, are you going to ignore the fact that Cam was eavesdropping before he came over? Knowing that myself, I feel _dirty_ in his presence; who knows what levels he would stoop to, just so he could distort truths and spread lies about us." Ash wasn't half the actor of Lillian, so he opted to make every flourish of his hands and gasps as dramatic and over-the-top as possible.

"Now he's avoiding the subject," Lillian mock-whispered in return to Cam, entirely dismissing the ginger's comment. "If that isn't suspicious, I don't know what is. You know what I bet?"

"What do you bet?" the florist replied, continuing the charade.

"Please don't say what you bet. We're still in public. Be decent for once in your life."

That caused all three to grin amongst one another. "I have no idea what you're talking about," Lillian replied, her face becoming a false mask of pure innocence, "But I will grace you with my kindness, and keep that comment for another day –it's too good to use right now anyways. But there is one thing I _do_ know." Stopping long enough to gulp down the rest of her coffee, delightful in its nutty, mountainous black aroma, Lillian popped her mug into a bin designated for dirty dishes, and wrapped her newly free arm around Ash's waist. "And that is that I haven't had a movie night with my two favourite boys in like, forever."

"I believe our lady-friend has a point, for once," Cam grinned.

"Excuse _you_. What is with this attitude? I think we need to have a sit down talk about our feelings, buddy. I'll go first. You two are buttheads who need to be nicer to the best girl you will ever meet. Like, ever. Forever and ever and then some. Besides maybe Reina-"

"Who's Reina?" they asked in unison, only to be dismissed without a second breath.

"-and Laney and Georgia and– you know what, nevermind. Us ladies are basically goddesses, and you guys should be worshipping us all the time for gracing your lowly lives with our majestic presences. I haven't been getting nearly as many offerings as a woman of my goddess-standing deserves, you know."

"Oh, the _horror_ ," Ash scoffed, rolling his eyes, but allowed the girl to lead him out with Cam all the same –she may have been a tiny little thing compared to the men she lead, being a head shorter than Ash, and even smaller compared to the florist, but she had been a proud Bluebell farmer for the better portion of almost four years now, and the strength in her arms wasn't something to doubt.

Their banter continued as the trio trekked to the southern area of the village, having moved from waist/shoulder holding to linked arms. As lame as they may have looked to a stranger, everyone in the village had grown used to seeing the sight, and any resentment the florist or farmhand may have once possessed had been dismissed years ago. When Lillian really wanted something, from a bag of seeds to the prized cow in Jessica's stables, to being publicly affectionate to even the most reserved citizens of Bluebell and Konohana, she got it one way or another.

Eventually, they split ways at Ash's home, where he turned off to get some extra work finished, and Lillian and Cam continued down the way. Before their casual, temporary good-byes (that all wound up being along the lines of "Later, nerds"), the three had decided that a movie night was indeed an important, formal event that required detailed planning, and so they would gather eventually the night after the next, for a marathon session of whatever recent hit series Lillian had brought back from her last city visit.

Before he really knew what had happened, Ash's mood had made a 180-turn in the last forty-some minutes, from when he entered the café, and he couldn't have been more pleased. While moping had become a little more common for him the last few days, it wasn't really something he enjoyed.

If only Ash had known how much time he would be spending doing just that in the weeks to come.

* * *

 **A/N** : Well hello again, my darlings! I have returned, all in my might! I posted a quick update on the original version of this story that I have returned, and hopefully my stay will be a lot more consistent than it was back in 2013, before I went on my spontaneous hiatus. All kinds of things have happened since back then, and I can't even begin to start on everything I've learned in my time away. But one of those things has been the life of a barista; Lillian's views on coffee are actually my own pretentious opinions WHOOPS. But that's okay.

Anyways. Had a Bad Day, newly titled Just a Bad Day (because I don't want to delete the old version). I didn't think I would ever have the chance to get back into it, but I have been dying to write for a really long time. I had originally planned on just updating the original version, buuuttttt I absolutely hated the pace and the writing in general. I didn't know where I wanted the story to go back then, and I went into each chapter nearly blind –a mistake that won't be happening this time around! I have a vague idea of how I want things to pan out, which should help an immense amount. I wasn't planning on actually posting this until I had a few more chapters written, but I couldn't help myself c':

But I need to stop babbling. I'm glad to be back, even though I assume most of you don't know/remember me. Sorry that my writing style is kind of long winded now, but I hope that you enjoy what I have to offer from here on out c; Lots of love, everyone!


	2. Fleeting Flower

"Thank the Goddess we got his spirits back up," Lillian sighed.

"I had hoped that maybe Laney and Jessica were just imagining things, being their usual worry-wart selves, but I guess not," Cam replied, giving the smallest shake of his head.

After having left the farmhand to go about his personal business at home, Lillian had originally planned on returning to her own farm to check up on her stables, but found herself walking, side-by-side with one of her musketeers, down the winding trail to the springs just outside of Bluebell.

Once upon a time, back when she had first arrived in the village after a freak accident with her carriage on a trip to a place called Oak Tree Town, she had essentially burned holes into the ground with how often she walked these paths. It seemed like ages ago to her now; back then, she hadn't the slightest idea of what she was doing, and any moderately successful harvest (basically any crop that didn't wind up wilting before she could pluck it out of the ground or off its stalk) was a product of pathetically dumb luck. She didn't even have any of her beautiful animals to keep her company during those times, nor did she have their financial support in terms of their products, and as such, Lillian had quickly realized that digging through stumps, wading in the water and running after insects for a few hours every day wasn't quite so bad when it meant she could have at least one, occasionally two, decent meals a day.

Even after that, she found herself coming to the mountain path whenever she had free time. After all, it was her best bet to find a particularly handsome florist loitering about when she couldn't find him working away or in the café; the thought brought a light smile to her face and from the corner of her eye, she glanced at the man in question. She could hardly believe that she had once thought that Cam, the biggest dork, emotional softy in the entire village, was cold and reserved –the man could nearly be brought to tears by seeing a trampled flower on the edge of the road, and all you needed to know about him could be learned by watching his eyes light up when they passed upon a newborn litter of kittens. But that's what precisely what she admired about him; his wore his heart on his sleeve, and his passions rang out loud and clear in everything he did.

"Any idea what could be wrong with him?" the florist said after a time, and Lillian realized with a start that she had been letting her mind wander more than she'd be willing to admit. Thank every Harvest God and Goddess in the world that Cam never questioned her on her dazes, nor pried into the contents. Well, not often, at least.

"I haven't the slightest clue," she replied with a sigh, after having gained the miniscule composure she had lost only a moment before. "As far as I know, he's been fine until just a few days ago. He hasn't come to me with any extraordinary problems –just his usual complaints about work, his sister, and wanting to get out of Bluebell on some kind of action-packed, adventurous vacation."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. And if he hasn't talked to you about what's bugging him, then he hasn't talked to anyone about it."

Now that was certainly curious enough to perk Lillian's interests. With a shadow of a grin tugging at her lips, she raised an eyebrow and swivelled in front of Cam to halt him in his tracks, "Now just what is _that_ supposed to mean?"

With a roll of his eyes, he shook his head, "We both know that you have become the top of his 'official-for-now-best-friend list'."

"Awwww, is poor wittle Cammy-Wammy jeawous?" she questioned with a pout, a malicious glint shining in her violet gaze. Cam just scoffed and pushed past the woman, continuing his stroll off the path, towards the edge of one of the ponds. Lillian let loose one of her girlish giggles, and skipped behind, making sure not to trip and break her ankle on one of the twigs or roots that littered the ground, and latched onto his arm and simultaneously nuzzling her cheek into his shoulder. "Now, now, no need for you to get all huffy on me too."

"I cannot figure out, for the life of me, why I still deal with you," Cam replied with a pout, but he couldn't hide the smile tugging at the corner of his lips for more than a few seconds.

A silence settled, and Lillian opted to gaze out towards the pond, still loosely holding onto the florist's arm as she rested her head against his shoulder. "I have to wonder that myself, sometimes," she said quietly, and Cam knew instantly that she was gone in her thoughts.

Most of what he had learned about Lillian the past four years was from his own personal observation, as well as holding onto every tiny word she uttered about her life before coming to Bluebell. Usually, she would talk about ridiculous stories from her childhood and time in school, reminiscing the petty drama and gossip that had occurred during those years. She would talk about past friends that she had never seen after graduation, and mention a handful of the odd jobs that she had possessed as a young(er) adult, which usually just turned into rants about how awful the customer service industry was, and how utterly rude and ignorant people could become when they thought the cute cashier behind the counter wouldn't snap back and kick them out of the store. In turn, she would go off on a tangent about how the farm life was better suited to her anyways, especially in terms of the animals, and then that would lead off to another branch of topics about her job in general. It was a pattern he had picked up on early in their friendship.

But every now and again, she would get a sad look in her eyes, and it seemed like she lost herself in another world.

Just like right now.

She would gaze into nothingness, a shadow of a smile that looked so wrong on a face that looked like it would break into tears at any moment. Not like it ever did, however; Cam could count on one hand how often he had actually seen his farmer lady-friend cry, and even those were generally out of anger and frustration as opposed to sadness. But he had also learned that these were the moments where, every so often, she would utter an obscure line or quote that he had assumed would relate to her family and past life. Most times, he wasn't so lucky, but he was always prepared, just in case. It was the only way he would ever learn anything that mattered about her –any attempt to actually pry into her life was not only futile, but could lead to bodily harm from a flying projectile, or a sharp slap, in an instant.

And unlike a certain farmhand, whom Lillian referred to as the third of their musketeers, Cam didn't take it as a slight to his person that, even after all this time, there was only so much that he could say he truly knew about the blonde woman in her daisy-yellow, plaid dress and embroidered red vest. There had always been an understanding between him and the farmer, and though they had enjoyed their moments of quarrelling in the past, it was never for that reason; he knew all too well about the need to keep the past as just that –the past. Whenever Ash would get defensive and huffy about it during their private guy-time, the florist often opted to remind him that even though the two only knew so much about her, they still probably knew more than the residents of Konohana and Bluebell combined, besides maybe Laney and that other girl Lillian had mentioned earlier in the day; Robyn? Rachel? … Reina? Yes, Reina, that was the one. When the moment permitted, he'd have to inquire about this new name at some point.

After coming back to his senses and realizing that he had been lost in his own daze, Cam just stayed still and quiet for another moment, giving Lillian the time he knew that she would need to let this pass. Then, as if nothing had been said at all, he slipped his arm out of her grasp and put it around her shoulder, pulling her into a one-armed hug while simultaneously flicking her forehead. "What, no comments about how it's because you are the sheer image of perfection and beauty?"

And without a heart beat's pause, she rolled her eyes, "Well now that's just _stupid_ ," she huffed, "I thought we all knew that was a given by now." And with a grin, she was out of her moment, as well as out of his grip, as she skipped forward three steps and gave a flamboyant twirl, landing in an equally exaggerated curtsy, "Now, continue with the compliments, and keep telling me how wonderful I am."

"Well, Majesty," he piped, jerking his head back in the direction he came, "instead of showering you in the thousand compliments I could, we could get back to your place to do some, as you put it, 'intense and uber-duper important party planning'. Unless, of course, you weren't actually serious about wanting to spend time with your 'two favouritest guys in the whole wide world' –your words, not mine."

Lillian rolled her eyes and scoffed, crossing her arms as she did so, "Cammy-bear, we have been spending entirely too much time together. This attitude could have only come from you being around me, and I don't appreciate having my own sass thrown back at me." But even as she complained, she nabbed the snickering florist's wrist and began dragging him back towards the village –as unfortunate as it was to admit, he was right. The intense and uber-duper important party planning was the only way they could possibly have an uber-duper important and amazing party, after all.

* * *

"Alright, so," the blonde woman chimed with a clap of her hands, sitting cross-legged on the floor as she spread a pile of DVD cases on the floor, all in different shapes and colours, "These are the choices for the night. Choose wisely, boys –whatever you pick could mean the beginning of a truly beautiful relationship, or a terrible end to the one we have here."

"Hear that, Ash? Four years, and she's only just considering us friends. So much for mutual trust and communication," the florist grinned as he tossed his coat and hat on the couch behind him, kicking out his legs and stretching with his arms above his head, much in the manner of the cats people often associated the man with.

"I think we have to let her go on this one," the ginger replied, his eyes lighting up as he sifted through the cases sprawled on the carpeted floor, "And focus on the fact that our dear little Lillian, here, is one of _those_ people."

"Excuse me?" the woman in question snapped, shooting the boy a bitter glare, essentially daring him to take the bait and get on her "bad" side.

Which, of course, he did.

In a heartbeat, Ash's grin turned into a devious smirk as he lifted up the cases, one by one, turning his attention to Cam, "I think this is the first time we've seen this much of her collection. Here, we have nearly every DVD she owns, and there isn't a _single_ disk here that _isn't_ a limited or special edition."

And just like that, the woman's face was flushed. Oh, he did not just go there. "Got a problem with that, you punk? It's better than the massive collection of porn mags under your mattress."

Check and mate.

"Dude," Cam groaned, rolling his neck, "are you serious? I don't even look at the stupid things, but I know better than to put them in such an obvious place."

"Hey! I have no idea what you're talking about," Ash stammered, his ears and face practically glowing with the blood that rushed to his face, his voice rising and cracking as he continued. "And how did you even know about those? That's in my private space! What were you doing snooping through my stuff?"

"Wait…" You could hear a pin drop in the thick silence that fell, "Wait, actually? You do? Oh my Goddess, I was just screwing around –this is so much better than I had hoped for," she said, attempting to muffle a laugh by clamping her hand over her own mouth.

With a chuckle, Cam held out his fist for Lillian, and gave a twisted grin to Ash, "Bro, you totally just outed yourself."

"I told you I would make him crack first," Lillian grinned at Cam, her snickers escaping before she could even begin to hold them back again, bopping his offered fist with her own, both of them making childish "boosh" sounds as they wiggled their fingers from the "explosion". At the childish action, Ash could feel the irritation from that morning bubbling beneath his ribs, growing by the second.

"You… You did _not_ just do that to me," Ash choked, his face burning bright as he buried his face in his hands, "Dude, Cam, not cool! That's totally against the bro-code!"

Cam amusedly opened his mouth to reply, but was beaten to the chase."Nah dude, nah," Lillian replied, dropping her voice to be as deep and "masculine" as she could manage, which was a terrible attempt in itself, but the restrained giggles that escaped every few seconds made it all the more ridiculous to watch. "There are no secrets between bros, you know. Especially when it comes to hot babes and boobs and all that cool dude stuff." The farmer shrieked at the shove that pushed her to the floor, but by the time she landed on her side, she was near hysterics in a full-blown laughing fit.

"You guys are literally the worst friends in the entire world," Ash muttered, tugging his newsboy cap farther down his head, now shoving his face into his folded arms. After a moment, he snapped his head up and glared at the duo, "Wait, you made a _bet_ on me?"

"Well," Cam started between his own snickers from watching Lillian gasp for breath, "not just on _you._ We made a bet to see if who would embarrass who first; she said she'd make you crack in the first five minutes, and I was trying to be the good friend by taking your side. After a moment, his face twisted into a troubled frown, and he scratched his cheek, "Shoot. That means that I owe her money now. You were getting so close, too."

"Oh, well I am just _so_ sorry that I made you lose your hard earned Gold," the farmhand snapped, getting to his feet and glaring down in his friends, "Thanks for, you know, _warning_ me, you ass."

"Whoa there," Cam and Lillian said in unison, every hint of the previous laughter and cheer instantly dispersing from the room. Without hesitating, the two scrambled to their feet, but Ash had already turned on his heel and was storming towards the front door.

"Ash, wait!" the farmer called, skipping around the DVD cases that littered her floor, "We were just having fun –you know that. Why are you so mad? We pull this shit all the time." Cam nodded in agreement, a step behind the farmer as she escaped the danger zone and jogged to the door to grab Ash's sleeve as he was walking through it.

"Maybe that is _exactly_ the problem, huh?" In an instant, Lillian was a step back from where she was half a second before, her eyes wide and her hand stinging. Did he just… Did he just slap her hand away?

"Hey." the florist said sternly, not quite a snap, but near well enough, considering how calm and collected he always held himself. Without another moment to spare, he was standing beside Lillian, and was holding back on taking that one extra step between her and their apparent "third musketeer" –he subconsciously knew that he'd have a vocal lashing later on if he even considered undermining the woman's capability to stand her own. "Apologize."

"What? Did you guys make a bet on that too? To see how early I would give in and say sorry?" Ash spat over his shoulder, hunched against the rising wind as he started down the path of Lillian's farm. "Yeah, no. Not this time."

"Ash, it was just a joke," Lillian tried to explain weakly, still tentatively taking a few steps out her front door after the raging ginger. Her heart had dropped to her stomach, and she felt ill watching his reaction; in all the time that they had known one another, she had never seen him so angry. And over what? A stupid stunt that was hardly uncommon between their trio.

Ash spun around to face her, his voice raised as he stomped back towards the girl and poked her in the chest hard enough for the woman to need to take a step back to balance herself. "Maybe before you go through with your so-called 'joke', you stop to consider how everyone else might feel about it, you bitch."

So much for working things out, and all three knew it. There were some lines that were not to be crossed, no matter the reason, nor circumstance. And calling Lillian the dreaded "b" word was a line that had been carved in stone years ago.

"Get off of my property." Lillian's tone was cold and bitter as she raised her chin, gaining an air of indestructible confidence, and slicing through Ash's being with a glare that could kill.

"Lil-" the ginger started, his face paled as he registered what he had just said.

"Now."

Slowly, she turned on her heel and walked to her house, Cam moving to the side to let her pass, following her tentatively. With tension coursing through her veins, she closed the door as quietly and calmly as possible, making it almost seem like there was nothing wrong. It was so, so much worse than if she had slammed it. Before it shut all the way, the florist and the farmer saw the farmhand standing in the center of the path, staring at the shutting door with a stricken expression.

At least he knew.

He knew he had screwed up big time.

And he knew there was a great possibility that their four-year long friendship may have just been shattered from two words uttered in anger.

* * *

 **A/N:** Aw yiss, nothing like throwing in a good ol' drama llama in by the second chapter. Don't worry, it isn't entirely to start suspense this early on in the story; I'm not quite that much of an angsty writer c; This is all set up for one of the big plot points, after all. And sorry for the delay in reply! I actually had a good portion of this typed out the day after I had posted chapter one, but I got severely distracted by reading some of the other fanfictions on here -as it turns out, I am 100% incapable of focusing on my own work unless I have finished/am caught up with whatever story I'm in the middle of reading. Go figure, yeah?

Also, sorry for such short chapters. I had decided just a short time ago that I wanted to make each chapter a minimum of roughly 5000 words, but this just felt like the best place to leave off for now. I'll try and do better for the next few chapters; if I fail, though, that's okay. I'm planning on making this story last for quite some time, after all c': Anyways, that's all for now! Review and all that, if you'd like (I know I certainly would), and I'll see you all next time!


	3. Winded Wishes

"No."

"Ash."

"No."

" _Ash_."

"I said no, Goddess damn you!" the ginger snapped, pointing an accusing finger to Cam as his face twisted into a bitter scowl that only presented a fragment of how angry he was. "You, of all people, have _no_ right to be asking me of anything right now."

The florist rubbed his temples, trying to massage away the headache that had been nagging him since he woke, and muttered something inaudible under his breath. Of course, the farmhand narrowed his eyes at the action and the words that he could only assume were about his stubbornness, which only made his aggravation multiply.

"Look," Cam sighed, removing his cap and running his fingers through his lengthened locks, Ash subtly noting it, as it was one of the few ticks that gave away when his friend and previous-partner in crime was getting frustrated. "We both know that Lillian would roll over and dance a jig in her grave before she would even consider caving and apologizing first. Not after you did what you did."

"Right, because this is all _my_ fault," the ginger sneered in response, turning his back on the florist and moving to tend the next sheep –which, neither man failed to notice, shied away when Ash approached. He paled ever so slightly at the animal's reaction, knowing it was a clear sign that he was letting his emotions affect his work a lot more than he should have been allowing. He was the one who always claimed that animals had some kind of additional sense, and that they were able to judge what a person was truly like beneath their exterior better than any other human.

Letting out a frustrated sigh that sounded closer to a growl, he mirrored Cam's actions and rubbed his aching head, the pounding becoming more and more difficult to ignore as he continuously noted the elements that his anger were affecting. The least of which hardly being his friend's tone and actions. "I know I screwed up, alright? I knew the instant those words passed my stupid, big fat mouth. But it's been a week, and if she can't suck it up enough to come and talk to me herself, instead of sending her goddess damned lapdog–"

"Ash. You are walking on very thin ice right now," the florist interrupted, his voice calm in a way that chilled Ash's spine. He just wasn't going to win, was he? First Lillian, now Cam. Not like he was hardly surprised that it was those two against his one; the stupid woman had a way with words and knew how to win over any person to her cause.

But he knew that wasn't right.

Ash knew that he was in the wrong.

He had known from the second Lillian's body tensed right before she ordered him off her property. That was how she looked every time she was about to let out any surge of negative emotion; when she was about to cry, whenever she was about to scream, lash out, curse, vent, or, as she had that night in the mid-spring breeze, put up every impenetrable wall she had within her being. Which was, unfortunately, a lot.

And he had known he had royally screwed up when he heard that voice.

It was so… dead. The way Lillian's voice could become so cold, so distant, so… empty. Emotionless. That wasn't a voice that someone picked up from a good and easy life, no matter how bitter and angry the person was in a single moment. That voice was an immediate association with the construction of walls, created as much to control herself within as it was to keep every other person _out_. And the walls that the blonde farmer were able to build could have only been a direct result of practice.

A lot of practice.

The farmhand had always known that Lillian had her own baggage; the way she was always so peppy and chipper, constantly bragging and putting herself on a pedestal for everyone else was more than enough to figure that one out. It was a defense mechanism, and he knew that; he assumed most people were aware of the fact as well, but it always boiled down to the fact that no one wanted to admit that the epitome of joy and happiness could have her own problems. If they were to accept that, they would have to accept all of their own issues that were pushed to the side on a daily basis, and frankly, everyone was too bloody selfish to do that. So they went along with the charade and pretended that all was peachy and swell in their quaint little fairy tale lives. Not like his understanding of the entire town's situation and thought process made him any happier of the fact.

Mostly because he had been trying his damned hardest since the first day he met her to go against the norm, and find out exactly what made her so… distant. So conservative, precise and so protective of her entire being. Every word she said, every expression she presented, every gesture she made –it was calculated. She always thought and mentally rehearsed every bloody shift of movement ten steps before she had any use for it, and it drove him absolutely insane. No one should live a life like that. No one. It was precisely why Ash was always so angry when Cam nodded and agreed to leave Lillian's business to be her own; how could he call himself her friend when he didn't go out of his way to help her through whatever troubles she had dealt with to get to this point?

And yet he was always the one that Lillian went to. Cam had always been the one that the farmer would go to in her deepest moments of distress, and Ash absolutely hated it. He was supposed to be her best friend too.

Not like it mattered anymore. Not after he said those two stupid words.

She had warned him, once upon a time. It was probably about a year and a half after she had accidently made her way to Bluebell, and by that point, she was only beginning to consider Ash and Cam as her two true best friends. Sure, they had been "friends" since almost her second week in the village, but that was different; back then, she would target the residents, one by one, and suffocate them in affection and determination until they crumbled to her friendship-wanting whims. After all, when Lillian desired something, she got it. But in those days, it was the kind of friendship one would have in their school days, where their friendship only lasted because they were around five out of seven days of the week. Ash had figured that it was by her first winter that they exited the superficial realm of their relationship, as that was when the movie nights had begun.

He remembered the first night the three had gotten together for one of her infamous slumber parties. The blonde had gone to the city the weekend before, and came home with armloads of bags, filled to the brim with city-slicker snacks, three massive bags of DVDs that Ash had never heard of, plus an entirely new comforter set for her bed (as her "lack of pillows and pathetic excuse for a blanket just would not do" when she had company staying the night). Ash remembered that night with a ghost of a smile; they had been sprawled on top of one another, watching movie after movie after movie until the wee hours of the morning –though, to be fair, they had hardly been paying attention to the last few, through their drunken stupor and constant giggling fits.

And, as the unspoken rule of sleepovers, the conversation had quickly turned down the path of "real talk", as Lillian so adamantly put it. The conversation was mostly a ridiculous pile of rubbish and nonsense, with a good dose of teasing and sarcasm, and the farmhand remembered, as clear as day, the second he had jokingly called her the forbidden "b" word. She had been talking about some kind of petty dramatic incident she was involved with in high school, and they had been throwing around names and minor insults as freely as a child would throw the red, orange and golden hued leaves on an autumn day, so when the farmer slapped Ash cleanly across the face, he hadn't been able to register what had happened for a moment.

"Never call me that again. Ever." That was all she said on the matter that evening, her violet eyes boring holes through his soul, the serious tone and tension completely out of place in the giddy joy that had encased the rest of the evening. He had wondered, for a time, if he had imagined the scene, as Lillian had immediately and effectively initiated Cam in a heated discussion about Star Wars only a handful of heartbeats later. If it weren't for Cam's own frazzled and confused expression, as well as the initial hesitance in the conversation, Ash may have assumed it was a figment of his imagination, procured from the after effects of alcohol.

And to think that he forgot, for even that single moment on the farm the week before, the words she delivered the day after that first sleepover, the ones she gave once she had patted him on the cheek and apologized for the mark her slap had left;

"You didn't know, and you don't need to know. It's personal. But call me that again, and I will never forgive you."

Lillian didn't break her promises.

Thinking back on it, she was pretty serious about the whole ordeal. He remembered being frozen in place, his heart dropping to his stomach when he had initially realized how close he could have come to losing his best friend, just from one ridiculous insult.

"She warned us," Cam muttered, as if knowing precisely what Ash had been thinking of. He realized with a bitter sense of invasion that he had been utterly silent and lost in his thoughts, having been sucked into the kind of daze that he would expect of the farmer or the florist, but never of himself –he always claimed he was too sharp to be caught in that kind of vulnerable state, where one's thoughts were written clear as day on their face.

"Yeah. She did."

"So? Does this mean you've realized what an ass you were?"

And here he was, thinking that he was on the brink of calming down from his guilt-ridden thoughts. Why the bloody hell couldn't Cam have politely and quietly left Ash alone, when he was in the midst of his daze? He didn't have the patience for this. Not right now.

But he knew if he snapped one more time, the florist would probably give a handful of choice words, and ignore him in the same manner as Lillian. Which, honestly, he wasn't sure he could deal with for much longer. Cam had been more than present at the scene of the crime; there was no way to twist the story in Ash's own favour, and both men were hyperaware of it. One of the most annoying facts of the entire situation, in fact, was that while Cam hadn't gone out of his way to avoid Ash the way Lillian had (curse her and her knowledge of every bloody resident's daily schedule), he also didn't go out of his way to seek out the farmhand. Until now. And now, it was just to get mad at him. Some friend.

"Yes," he finally answered, his tone holding a bitterness even he hadn't expected. "In case you weren't watching, I believe I realized that the very second she slammed that stupid door in my face."

"Last I checked, she was actually rather calm closing that door; much more so than I had been expecting. It was kind of frightening to see, even from my perspective."

"Whatever," Ash muttered, rolling his eyes while tugging his cap off his head, finding an immense interest in it and its distraction potential as he flipped it around his hands. "I'm still not gonna apologize to her."

"And why not?" the florist prompted, his face softening by a marginal degree as he pushed off the section of fence his back had been leaning against, simply to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the ginger. He honestly felt bad, watching how he was taking this conversation –it was like kicking a kitten.

"I'unno," he muttered, sighing as the breeze trickled through his unkempt locks. "Just 'cause."

And if Cam had felt bad before, he felt about a thousand times worse now. Any anger he had possessed minutes ago had completely vanished in the span of time it took Ash to give that half-hearted answer.

"You aren't getting off that easily," he replied with a light chuckle, giving Ash a nudge. "C'mon, why not?"

Another shrug of the shoulders, and the ginger dropped his head to stare at the ground as he bit the inside of his cheek.

It hurt to watch Ash shrug off the entire question, so see him give in so entirely. This was the head strong, stubborn jerk of a man that Cam had come to call one of his only true friends, who never gave the slightest thought to consequences, who acted in the moment and was dominated by his own emotions, and here he was, giving up. Not because he was weak or because he didn't feel up to the challenge –Ash was too ambitious to be defeated before the battle had begun. There was only one thing that the brunette could imagine was weighing the other man down;

He didn't believe there was any possible way to fix what he fucked up.

"She won't stay mad forever, you know," the florist sighed after a time, leaning forward against the fence, staring at the motion of the trees swaying on the other side of the cobble stone road.

"You don't know that."

"True. But you don't know that she will."

"Have you heard her talk about those kids from school? If she can do anything, it's hold a grudge."

"Haven't you listened to any of her stories? They _obviously_ 'totally deserved it', don't you know." The two gave a side-eye glance, and in an instant, twin grins stretched across their lips as the air seemed to settle around them. They had always been like that; able to resolve a conflict, to apologize and forgive without either side uttering anything remotely close to a "sorry".

Still, Ash gave a disheartened sighed as he hopped backwards on the fence, creating a perch for him to sit and watch the animals graze in the field. "I doubt she'd even let me talk to her, at this point. It's been a week, and she hasn't been in any hurry to cross paths with me."

"Her memory of every villager's schedule is pretty remarkable," Cam agreed with a chuckle, "But don't worry. I can nearly guarantee that she wants to make amends; about ninety-nine point eight percent positive."

"Is that why you're here? Did she ask you to obscurely convince me to go hunt her down and apologize?"

The florist scoffed and rolled his eyes at the idea, "Pfft, as if. More like I'm afraid that I'll become her new punching bag, without you there to take the fall. And I'm kind of missing having her crude tongue have some other innocent bystander to go after."

"Oh, wow, thanks. I'm glad I can count on you to have my back."

"Survival of the fittest, man."

"More like survival of the florist."

"That… that one was alright. I should use that sometime." The two men gave each other a mirrored lazy grin, and a serene silence settled once more. After a handful of minutes, Cam pushed himself off his leaning perch, and ducked between two of the fence's beams. "Alrighty, I think my 'be back in five' sign wore off nearly an hour ago, so I'm gonna take this as my cue. Tell me how things go over, alright?"

Before he could make it three steps, Ash's small voice came out in barely a whisper. "Cam?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think she'll actually forgive me?"

The florist gave a soft smile, and turning on his heel to walk back up towards the café, he spoke over his shoulder, "All for one, and one for all."

* * *

 **A/N:** So I am terribly lazy, and I'm not planning on going too terribly far out of my way to proof read it, because it's kind of long winded, and I'm throwing this up before I go to work c': Hopefully it's alright, and it didn't bore you guys to death. Next time, we'll be seeing a little more of Laney and Lillian, so you can look forward to that c; Drop a review, if you have the chance! I love reading your guys' feedback c': Until next time!


	4. Little Lilac

"Lillian."

"No."

"Lillian."

"No."

" _Lil-"_

"Ug! Laney, shhh, stop! Just stop! You're killin' me here," the farmer huffed with a sigh and a bitter grumble as she slouched in her seat and sloppily crossed her arms over her chest. Nuh uh. She wasn't gonna do it. Not even for Laney.

"To be perfectly honest, that doesn't wound my conscious whatsoever," the waitress grinned over her teacup, taking a moment to blow on the simmering Royal English before continuing, "Just do it."

"I don't wanna."

"You are literally the most infuriating person I have ever met in the entirety of my life. Give me three reasons why you're so against it."

"Alright, fine," the farmer muttered, huffing once more, subsequently letting her bangs flutter in the air for a brief moment. Laney quirked her eyebrow and was on the verge of gesturing for Lillian to continue, when the other woman burst out of her seat, knocking her chair over in the process, "Number one! I don't want to."

"That's not a legitimate reason."

"It totally is. You didn't dictate any rules stating restrictions on my reasoning," she stated, her entire demeanor shifting into a smug casualness that made the blonde roll her eyes; she should have guessed that Lillian would bullshit her way through this conversation.

"Whatever, fine. Reason two?"

"To give in after fighting against it for this long is a terrible show of weakness. And if I am anything in the entire world, it is not weak."

"You aren't weak, and you wouldn't be even if you 'gave in', as you so eloquently put it." Laney couldn't even begin to imagine why Lillian decided that the farming life was the one for her; she would have made a killer lawyer, with the way she argued. Even when she was bullshitting her way through a conversation, as was the case in the current moment in time, her way with words and her overwhelming air of determination and sheer confidence would make any professional second guess themselves. "You just have the stubborn pride of a mule."

"I will not deny that!" The two ladies grinned at one another, and Laney just resorted to shaking her head and stifling a giggle as she took a sip of her tea, waiting for Lillian to pick up her seat and settle herself before giving the deal breaking argument. "But reason number three is the most important one. And it's an actual reason that you would approve of."

"Oh, really now?"

"Yes. Reason number three is…" Taking a moment to patter her hands against the table in a mock drum roll, Lillian let the pause linger long enough to get a frustrated sigh from the poor girl before her, "It looks disgusting."

"I… What?" The look of shock on Laney's face was absolutely priceless. What Lillian would give for the entirety of the village to see this one moment of pure betrayal on the face of the resident sweetheart.

"I'm _kidding_ ," she snorted, scooting her chair closer to her best lady friend's, pulling the other blonde close to smooch her temple and nuzzle close, "It's beautiful, you dork. It just looks so… sweet. Look how many layers there are! Like, this single slice of cake could feed all of Konohana, and there would be leftovers... Please don't cry."

"I'm not going to cry," the waitress pouted, her emerald eyes now taking an interest in the hands folded in her own lap.

Shoot. She fricked up. Again. Lillian knew her "humour" was easily one of her largest flaws, and had always been pretty bad at knowing when to draw the line and stop with the teasing. With a dramatic sigh, she reached across Laney and plucked the dainty, intricately-patterned fork that was designated for important events in the café –such as testing a new dish, apparently. And with a one-two-three, a sizeable chunk of the dessert was in her mouth, blossoming and bursting with a dozen different flavours that flowed together and melded into one. "That's… that's actually pretty good."

"Don't lie to me," Laney sighed, pushing her bangs back and rubbed her forehead with her middle and forefinger, "If I wanted someone to do that, I would have asked Cam."

"No, I'm serious! It's actually really good! It's just… wow, that is a lot going on. You know that I don't really eat super sweet things!"

"Just you wait. One day I'll make a dessert that will sweep even _you_ off your feet," she grinned, rolling her eyes. As much as she hated to admit, and as much as she wanted to mope for a few more moments about Lillian's joke, she was right; the farmer had never been a big fan of any of the café's cakes or parfaits. But without her usual taste-tester around…

As if on cue, Lillian took another bite, this one noticeably smaller, and commented, "Why not ask Ash's input on this thing? He's a better judge than I am when it comes to sweet stuff and whatever, and he's a shit liar, so you get the best of both worlds."

One blink. Two blinks. Three. "Wait, does that mean you two made up?" Laney finally managed to get out, her eyes wide in confusion. Why was she always the last to know about the important things?

"Huh? Oh, no, not yet. He hasn't apologized yet, and we all know that I'm not gonna go up to him first."

"But… why not? Like, you told me what happened and all of that fun stuff, but I'm still kind of confused on why it's such a big deal? I don't blame you for being mad, but isn't this… excessive?"

Lillian shrugged, putting the dessert fork down and plucking her mug of coffee off the tiny table. "Not really? I guess I see where you're coming from, but he was being an ass, he was in the wrong, and I have no obligation to go and baby him to make everyone else feel better, you know?"

"Dang, Lil', I knew you could be harsh, but seeing is believing," a new voice chimed from behind the two ladies, and as Lillian leaned back to look above her, the widest possible grin broke out over her features.

"Dirk!"

"The one and only," he laughed, leaning down to her grabbing hands to give the petit woman an awkward hug. Without missing a beat, he nabbed the back of a chair from one of the other café's tables, and dragged it to the corner table that situated the two Bluebell ladies. "Now then, what's all this juicy gossip about?"

"Uh…" As the interaction between this new man and Lillian transpired, Laney had to sit back in bafflement –who even was this? Laney hadn't recalled seeing this fellow around before, which meant that he was either a tourist or a resident of Konohana; given his familiarity with the farmer, however, the waitress was more inclined to believe the latter. Even so, it was odd that the blonde didn't recognize him, considering the two villages did interact on occasion.

Lillian and the apparent "Dirk" were caught up in their own engagement, the farmer making wild gestures and twisting her face into a thousand expressions as she retold the story that Laney could nearly recite herself, at this point. And as such, she took the moment to stay in her quiet, reserved corner, and observe the gentleman over the rim of her teacup. His hair appeared to be neatly cropped, an easy sandy brown, though it was mostly covered by a deep fuchsia cap; a colour that he seemed to don from nearly top to bottom. He was probably only a few inches taller than herself standing up, though he had a lean build and clean lines, with a recently shaven face. But she found her eyes constantly returning to gaze at his own, a brilliant emerald only a few shades softer than her own.

Dang. He was pretty freaking cute.

Not like it mattered. A small smile graced her features as the one who gave her an endless supply of butterflies came to mind; this mail courier was attractive, sure, but she would be forever faithful to the crush that she had nurtured over the years.

"Oh!" Lillian giggled, clapping her hands as she registered Laney's confusion, "Laney, let me introduce you. This is Dirk; he's the new mail courier for Bluebell and Konohana, though he permanently lives over there. Dirk, my dear, this is my one true love in the world, Laney. I know she's super adorable and you're probably having inappropriate _boy_ thoughts, but she is mine, and if you even fantasize about speaking to her, I'll beat you up." As she babbled on, the farmer took the blonde woman into her embrace, encasing her as best as she could in the most over dramatically possessive manner she could muster.

"Lillian, stop!" she whined, her pale complexion slowly colouring to the shade of her own cardigan, "You're embarrassing me."

"Now, now," Dirk snickered, holding his hands up in mock surrender, "There's no need to worry about me whisking her lovely self away. She's beautiful to be sure," he paused, quirking an eyebrow at the woman who brought her hands up to cover her flushed face, "Very much so, in fact. But Lillian, my darling, we both know that you are the only woman who could ever possess my heart and fulfill its longing desire."

At that, Lillian staged a zealous gag, before grinning and holding Laney even closer, "Good luck trying to win me to your side with lines like _those._ Plus, you're already engaged, you dork –or did your superb memory forget that too?"

With a sigh, Dirk waved his hand in dismissal, though it was easy to note the glow that encased the man once his alleged fiancée was mentioned. "Details, details. Have you two spoken recently, by the way? She's been complaining about wanting to tell you all the juicy gossip from home."

Laney couldn't help but bite her bottom lip and cast her eyes down as she squirmed out of Lillian's grip; it had been some time since she had felt so out of place with her best friend. But these were the moments that made the blonde question if she was as important to Lillian as was the case vice versa.

No, that was stupid.

Of course she was.

Lil' would never lie about something like that.

Though Laney always had to let her mind wander when these people came strutting around, people who obviously had known Lillian for seasons, but people whom had never come up in conversation in the entire time the two ladies had been merely acquainted.

Glancing back up, Laney blinked as she registered that the two were now looking at her, obviously having turned the conversation to include her own input. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Thinking about lover boy again?" The snicker that passed the other two figures at the table made Laney avert her gaze and purse her lips as a blush began to rise once more. Great. She made herself look like a fool.

"Hey now, love is never something to be embarrassed about!" Dirk chimed with a chuckle, reaching out to take Laney's hand in one of his own, and pat it lightly, "He's a lucky guy to have someone as sweet as you, so don't worry about that, alright?"

"I… How can you say that?" the blonde stammered out in defence, "You don't even know me. I could be an awful human being, you know."

"Let's call it intuition."

"Intuition is just a fancy sounding word for stupidity."

"Are you still upset over the cake thing?" Lillian sighed, shaking her head, which just made Laney all the more uncomfortable in her embarrassment. Shoot. She was making herself look not only rude, but a fool as well.

"… I'm sorry," she muttered quietly, darting her eyes to meet Lillian's violet and Dirk's spring green for a brief moment before hugging her cardigan closer to herself.

"It's all in the past," Dirk chimed, waving it off once more –he seemed to be rather good at the whole "carefree" demeanor. Laney nearly envied his ability to take something and drop it a heartbeat later. "But if it proves to be more believable, I know you're sweet because you're one of _her_ friends; anyone who she sticks around with, who can simultaneously deal with her attitude for more than four minutes has to be the equivalent of a Goddess."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!" the farmer pouted, shooting out a leg to give a quick, clean kick directly to his shin beneath the table's disguise.

"Ow! Bloody Goddess, Lil! See what I mean?" Which, of course, only resulted in Dirk receiving a sharp pain to the other leg.

Laney let out a delightful giggle, this time being the one to pull the other woman towards herself. Partially to protect Dirk, and partially to hold down any limbs that could possibly fly out with her next comment. "You should see how she is first thing in the morning. There are times I've considered grabbing a broom for protection from the beast that possesses her."

"Oh, so this is how it's gonna be? You know one another for ten minutes, and I'm already being teamed up against? Great."

"Oh yeah, like _you_ can talk, Queen of Hypocrisy," the brunette laughed, slipping out of his seat, nodding his head towards the cash register and display of sweets.

Taking her cue that she actually had to do her job, Laney followed the man and slipped behind the counter, grinning as she watched Lillian from the corner of her eye stand and begrudgingly follow. "So, you never finished explaining the whole Ash thing to me," she put in, gathering Dirk's order of a ginseng tea and raspberry cheesecake with effortless grace.

"Wait, you two still haven't made up? Lil, you said you had things under control."

"I _do_ have things under control. I'm just fine with the way things are, I'll have you know."

"Liar," Laney and Dirk shot back in synchronization.

"What? I am! I've come to terms with it, you know? If he doesn't want me around anymore, than whatever, I'll deal with it. He's a big boy, and he can make his own decisions."

"You're being stupid," Dirk scoffed, rolling his eyes as he leaned against the counter and nibbled on his cake, "This is fantastic, by the way."

"Of course it is; I made it, after all," Laney grinned, before hardening her expression at Lillian, "You aren't being 'mature' by running away from your problems like this."

"I'm not running. And he's not being mature by not realizing he was in the wrong!"

"Have you seen him recently? Ever since you two snapped at each other, he's always looking forlorn and I always catch him sadly gazing into nothing. Cheryl and Jessica have been worrying about it too. I'm pretty sure he knows."

"Come on, babe," the mail courier sighed, throwing a lazy arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer, "You've been putting on more of a face than usual recently, and we all know it. Ash –that's his name, right? Anyways, the kid has apparently been one of your best friends for what, four years? There's nothing wrong with the fact you're bothered by it."

"I'm feeling exceptionally attacked right now," she muttered, casting violet eyes down to her feet as she crossed her arms, "I'm still not gonna apologize."

"And we're not saying you should," Laney sighed, pouring another batch of freshly brewed French Roast into a ceramic mug for the farmer, "We're saying you should talk to him. At least, that's what I'm saying."

"No, I totally agree. This tiff between you guys is throwing off the dynamic of half the village, and I'm just a mail courier who has been seeing this place a few hours a day for like, two weeks."

"You guys know I love you, right?"

"Of course you do," the two grinned, once more speaking in unison.

"But I'm not gonna go out of my way to do it. And by the way, it's super creepy that you two can do that."

Sighing, the waitress shook her head and frowned. She knew that she wasn't making progress right now, and that today would not be the day that she won this feud. But she'd find a way.

Lillian was her best friend, which meant it was her job to clean up the messes that Lillian didn't know were staining the path before her.

She would find a way.

* * *

 **A/N** : This could certainly have been… better. But oh well. That's life. I'm still kind of getting back into the whole "writing" thing, so I hope you guys aren't suffering too much from my rustiness! Anyways! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter to some degree, and I hope to hear your thoughts on what's happening so far! Hopefully my characterization isn't too bland or anything c': Have a great weekend, everyone!


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